FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — There’s something beyond stinky out on Fort Myers Beach. Actually, it’s a lot of smelly stuff, a giant pile, to be factual.

The land where Newton Beach Park once was is now a massive site for sorting and storing sand and sea creatures that washed up in Hurricane Idalia’s storm surge.

What you can’t get from reading about this or even seeing pictures is the stench that emits from the pile of rotting organic material.

“Bad. Really bad. Horrifying. Sewage. Like surprisingly bad,” said Jean Wihbby, who’s visiting from West Palm Beach.

We’re talking everything from seaweed to seashells rotting in the sweltering Southwest Florida sun.

“I don’t know what it is, but it gets stuck in your throat and makes you cough a little and burns your eyes a little,” said Darrell McCarty.

There’s no better way to describe the smell than just downright disgusting.

“It just smells like being in a toilet or a sewer or something. It’s that bad,” Wihbby said.

You can’t miss spotting the operation, either. Giant construction trucks are collecting the rotting remnants of Idalia.

“Yes. That’s the equipment just for the sand. There’s a different piece of equipment for the rubbage,” said Jennifer Dexter, Public Information Officer with the Town of Fort Myers Beach.

They’re also scooping and sifting sand, as well as picking out bigger debris. It’s all part of the federally funded cleanup of the second hurricane to impact Southwest Florida in the last year.

“The sand has been sifted, that’s here, and it’s going to be used to go back on beach access that needs filling in after Idalia,” Dexter said.

That’s a good thing, right?

So is cleaning up all of the rotting shells. Although it stinks dealing with it, the end result is worth pinching your nose for a few more nights.

“I can deal with it,” McCarty said.

The good news is he won’t have to deal with that much longer. Contractors should be wrapped up with their work and have all of this hauled out of here by Friday night.

If you’re wondering how much debris they’ve collected from the beach, the town will know shortly after the last dump truck leaves.